They Still Don't Get It!!

 I just came across a article on the Medical News Today website called "Epidemic Of Obesity Requires A New Focus On Controlling Energy Balance And Preventing Weight Gain". The title sparked my interest so I started to read. 

"A healthy body weight is best maintained with a higher level of physical activity than is typical today and with an energy intake that matches," explained Hill, professor of pediatrics and medicine and executive director of the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and the lead author of the paper. "We are not going to reduce obesity by focusing only on reducing food intake. Without increasing physical activity in the population we are simply promoting unsustainable levels of food restriction. This strategy hasn't worked so far and it is not likely to work in the future.

As Dr. Hill explains, "What we are really talking about is changing the message from 'Eat Less, Move More" to 'Move More, Eat Smarter.' " http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/247434.php

 Okay, sounds good on paper if you believe the theory of calorie in = calorie out. But I remember Gary Taubes writing about the flaws of this belief in Why We Gat Fat. How do you get a obese person to move more without first loosing the weight?? When I was overweight the last thing I wanted to do was exercise! But, when I finally changed what I was feeding myself with (not calorie restriction by the way just a change in the types of food I ate-high fat mind you) good food and my body fat started to melt off, then I had more energy to move more even though I lost my weight with not much more physical activity than I already did. So the Dr. should change the message to "Eat Smarter, THEN You'll Move More".

 I really don't think the obesity epidemic we have in America is the result in less movement. We move less because we are overweight. We get overweight because of the flour and sugar we consume. If you take out the flour and sugar, you'll loose weight and become more active. Where do we get the flour and sugar? Typical American diet includes bread, buns, cakes, cookies, soda, gummy bears, candy bars, sandwiches and french fries, deep fried starches and breaded things, biscuits, on and on and on and on. Take that crap out and eat a more Primal meal plan you will loose the fat very easily and for good, because it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change.

 I urge you to visit the man who really kick started my journey Mark Sisson at http://www.marksdailyapple.com/. Order his book The Primal Blueprint, you won't be sorry!

Over and out.

Western Diet=Disease

 It all started for my back in the winter of 2011. I got back from a vacation in Costa Rica and looked at our family pictures from that wonderful trip. It was then that I realized, "holy shit am I fat"! What in the hell did I do to myself? I used to be lean and mean! I used to be pretty damn fit and handsome. Now I look like someone who just got stung by a bee and my whole body was inflamed because of it! I knew I was chubby, wasn't the first time I realized that from looking at pictures or gazing into the mirror at my love handles, but this time it hit home, I was ready for a change!

 I went to the scale and found out I was a bit over my fighting weight. I weighed in at a nice and plump 218. What a tiger I was, man boobs and all! I knew it was time to get to work.

 I started searching on i-tunes for a podcast or two that talked about diet. I found one that I really enjoyed. A guy and a girl team talking about how to loose fat and get healthy with nutrition and exercise. It wasn't a low carb show, but the idea's they shared were the catalyst for my weight loss. I went from 218 down to 202 in two months by eating oatmeal for breakfast, a salad for lunch (w/olive oil dressing), and a not so huge plate at dinner with a meat, veggie and starch (really watched my portions). Then they had on a guest that changed everything for me, Mark Sisson.

 After listening to the awesome interview on the Primal Blueprint, I immediately ordered his book at started eating primal or low carb shall we say. In less than a month my weight dropped from 202 down to 192, without a lot of exercise I might add. Actually none of my weight loss was because of any added exercise, it was because of the toxic food I was eliminating from my diet. When you remove the toxic foods like wheat flour and sugar (wheat is sugar when it enters your body) your body is able to heal and correct itself. The human body is so good at fixing itself if you give it a chance. We cause it to break down by the poor fuel we give it. That's why I liked the Primal Blueprint so much. It was about eating REAL food and cutting out all the processed crap we eat in the western world.

 I also was reading up on the Western A. Price Foundation and Sally Fallon. I read that I could eat sourdough bread and drink milk if it was whole and raw. Really I can eat bread again and not get fat? Cool. So we started eating the sourdough and found a farm where we could get raw milk. I got stuck at 192 for 6 months wondering why I couldn't loose anymore. I felt pretty good but knew I could loose some more. My acid reflux was gone, my sore feet I had every morning was gone, my lower back pain was disappearing, loose stools in the morning became solid, and my skin really cleared up (used to get pimples a lot).

 It was then I came across a book called Wheat Belly by Dr. Davis. He says wheat, no matter what way you prepare it, is toxic to our bodies because the wheat we grow today is a different strain than what we had 100 or even thousands of years ago. Hmmm. Maybe I should take out the sourdough? Oh and I also was eating homemade white organic popcorn 2-3 times a week, one of my favorite snacks, but I decided to cut that out to because it's a grain. So I did and much to my surprise I started loosing weight, fast! In 2 months I went from 193 down to 180, just by taking out the sourdough bread and popcorn! (Did I mention I like beer? Yeah, I cut that back also since starting my health kick, just sticking to light beer and limiting it to a treat once in awhile, but I do like to have a glass of read vino every night! Trying to be French I guess!)

 So there you have it in a nut shell. I learned the wheat and sugar was ruining my health. My aches and pains went bye bye and my body turned into a fat burner instead of a sugar burner. No more chips in a bag, crackers, flour pancakes, bread (sourdough included), candy bars, cakes, juice, cookies. Now it's grass fed beef for the most part, cooking with good fats-coconut oil, olive, animal fat, organic veggies-fresh as possible, free range local eggs and chicken, just as real as I can get it! And you know, I don't miss any of the stuff I stopped eating, the cravings for sugary stuff goes away when you eat primal, the way we evolved to eat.

 If you have health problems like I did or look like your swollen from a giant bee sting, it's not normal. It's no wonder we have so many sick people in this country and we are so heavily medicated.  We're all giving our furnaces cardboard to burn instead of good slow burning hardwood! Let's turn this health care system around and show all the food pyramid dummies a thing or two!! It all starts with you and if there's one thing I learned, it's that you are the captain of your ship, not some MD who doesn't know shit about nutrition or health!

Yours Truly,
Brandon